# How do you use geolocation in Adalo?

Store Location values, compare distance reliably, handle device permission, and design nearby lists without mistaking formatted addresses for geographic data.

- Canonical URL: https://adalocado.com/answers/use-geolocation
- Verification: Verified from current public evidence
- Topic: Database and Relationships
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Last reviewed: 2026-08-13
- Index status: index-now

## Short answer

Use an Adalo Location property for places you need to search by distance. Capture or select a location, store it on the relevant record, and use location-aware filtering or display values such as the full address.

Use a Location property when the app needs geographic meaning; a plain address string cannot power a distance comparison. Test with two known places and an intentionally wide radius before tuning the real experience. The expanded answer makes the two-point contract visible, defines what happens to records with missing locations, and treats device permission as a user choice with manual and broader-result fallbacks. It does not claim that a static-location example verifies live movement tracking.

## Intended outcome

Records with valid location data that can support nearby results and human-readable addresses.

## Requirements

- A collection with a Location property
- Location permission when current device location is used
- Records containing real location values

## Step by step

1. **Use the correct property type**

   Add a Location property rather than storing the address only as text. Location sub-properties can expose values such as Full Address.

2. **Capture a location**

   Populate the Location property through the appropriate location or address input in your current builder flow.

3. **Confirm the stored value**

   Inspect sample records before debugging the interface. A missing location cannot produce useful nearby results.

4. **Display the address**

   Bind visible text to the record’s Location → Full Address or another relevant location sub-property.

5. **Apply the location rule**

   Use the available location operator, such as within a distance, with a known reference location.

6. **Handle permission and empties**

   Provide a manual alternative if device location is unavailable and exclude or label records with missing locations.

## Why it works

- A formatted address is presentation; a Location property carries geographic meaning used by location operators.
- Nearby results require two valid points: the record location and the reference location.
- Location permission is a user choice, so the experience needs a fallback.

## Data model

| Collection | Properties | Relationships |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Places | Name, Location, Address label | Optionally belongs to one owner or category |

## Common failures

### The nearby list is empty

Check that both stored records and the reference value are real Location values, then temporarily widen the distance.

### The address displays as empty

Verify the record has a location and bind to the correct location sub-property, such as Full Address.

### Device location is unavailable

Explain why it is needed, request permission in context, and offer a typed location or broader results.

## Testing checklist

- [ ] A wide distance returns the known nearby sample record and excludes a distant record.
- [ ] Denied location permission reveals a manual location or unfiltered fallback.
- [ ] A record without a location never causes a broken or misleading result.
- [ ] Location values exist in sample records
- [ ] The app handles denied permission
- [ ] The distance unit is clear
- [ ] A broad-distance test returns expected records
- [ ] Missing locations have a defined state

## Limitations

- Location results depend on permission, valid stored Location values, and platform support.

## Community evidence

### [Display users depending on the distance](https://forum.adalo.com/t/display-users-depending-on-the-distance/55256)

A builder reports using the Location field to show tutors within 10 km of a client location without a custom distance formula. Boundary: The same thread says the example uses static residence locations and does not establish real-time moving-location behavior.

## Sources

- [Adalo filtering](https://help.adalo.com/component-basics/conditions-and-filtering/filtering-in-adalo)
- [Adalo: comparing locations](https://help.adalo.com/database/location/comparing-locations)
- [Adalo forum: distance filtering](https://forum.adalo.com/t/display-users-depending-on-the-distance/55256)

Markdown version: https://adalocado.com/answers/use-geolocation.md